Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in Lima for a key meeting before Donald Trump’s return

U.S. President Joe Biden is greeted by Gustavo Adrianzen, Prime Minister of Peru, at Jorge Chavez International Airport, ahead of the APEC summit in Lima, November 14, 2024. APEC PERU / VIA REUTERS U.S. Presidents Joe Biden Biden, and Chinese, Xi Jinping, arrived, Thursday, November 14, in Lima to participate in the summit of Asia-Pacific countries, on the sidelines of which they planned a meeting, in the middle of a tense climate before returning to January 2025 of Donald Trump in power. Xi Jinping was received in the afternoon by President Dina Boluarte, before virtually inaugurating, from the presidential palace, the new megaport of Chancay, the first port terminal financed by China in South America. The American and Chinese presidents are in Lima for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, which brings together twenty-one countries accounting for 60% of world GDP. The forum opened on Thursday with a closed-door ministerial meeting. The heads of state or government will meet on Friday and Saturday. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In Peru, Xi Jinping inaugurates a Chinese port, a stop on the Silk Roads in the region Read later Mr. Biden and his Chinese counterpart plan to meet on Saturday, on the sidelines of the summit, with the objective of reducing tensions between their two countries. This will be their third meeting and the second in just over a year. Both will then go to the G20 in Brazil. “Promote connectivity” Joe Biden’s mandate was marked by strong tensions with Beijing but also by the maintenance, as best he could, of bilateral dialogue. But Joe Biden, 81, will leave the controls, in January 2025, to the Republican Donald Trump, who has already appointed to his team those who take a hard line against Beijing and has raised fears of new trade wars with China. During the electoral campaign, the Republican, winner of the November 5 vote, promised to defend American industry, threatening to apply customs duties of 10% to 20% on all imported products and up to 60 % for those coming from China. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers US presidential election 2024: China wonders which Trump it will be dealing with Read later These threats come as the Asian power, the world’s second largest economy, is struggling with a real estate crisis and sluggish consumption . Beijing nevertheless intends to strengthen its presence in South America with its new megaport of Chancay, located approximately 80 km north of the Peruvian capital. “We must work together to build, manage and operate the port of Chancay,” noted Xi Jinping, adding that he wanted to “promote connectivity between South America and China”. “We are a reliable partner and today, with the inauguration of the Chancay megaport, we confirm it,” for her part, declared the Peruvian president during the ceremony. Beijing’s growing influence in Latin America Financed by Beijing to the tune of 3.5 billion dollars (3.3 billion euros), the terminal which will eventually have fifteen berths (compared to four currently), illustrates the growing influence of Beijing in Latin America, once considered the reserved domain of the United States. In its first year of operation, one million containers are expected to pass through the port, built by Cosco Shipping Ports, a 60% owner and subsidiary of Chinese shipping giant Cosco Shipping. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers In Latin America, China is establishing itself in the “backyard” of the United States Read later Apec has aimed, since 1989, to promote economic growth, cooperation and investments in the Pacific region. Its members also include Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Chile, Canada, Australia, Mexico and Russia. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Russian Head of State Vladimir Putin will be absent. Le Monde Application La Matinale du Monde Every morning, find our selection of 20 articles not to be missed Download the application Mr. Biden will meet, on Friday, at the same time the Japanese Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, and the South Korean President, Yoon Suk-yeol, two of its key allies in Asia. More than 13,000 police officers have been deployed to Lima, Peru’s capital of ten million people, to reinforce security during the summit, while demonstrations have been organized since Wednesday to denounce an increase in extortion and murders linked to organized crime. “We want the international community to know that it [la criminalité] is killing us, that there is no policy to fight organized crime and insecurity,” Walter Carrera, president of the National Transport Association, told Agence France-Presse. At least two hundred demonstrators demonstrated on Thursday near the convention center which is hosting the summit. Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content



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